Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON
AZZURRAAIR, THE Italian start-up regional airline (Flight International, 1-7 May), in which Air Malta holds a 49% stake, is in advanced negotiations for three new Avro RJ85s. The airline claims that funding has been secured.
The carrier is being formed to operate regional services from the northern Italian city of Bergamo to other Italian cities, as well as to points in France, Germany and Switzerland. The carrier is applying for the necessary licences to enable it to start flying, including an air operator's certificate, and it expects to begin operations by the end of this year.
Despite suggestions that the airline is underfunded, the carrier says that the funding is in place, but that the lack of suitable equipment being immediately available has been the problem.
Air Malta is an existing customer for the Avro RJ, with a fleet of four RJ70s, and would be able to provide training and maintenance services for the new airline.
Source: Flight International
